All eyes were on her. ‘I know we are in shock,’ she began, thankful her voice sounded relatively normal even though inside she wasn’t feeling very calm. ‘But, we are all going to have to pull together and support each other through this. With the bridge gone this means … well, I think we all know what this means.’
There was an undercurrent of chatter.
‘What about food and supplies to the village?’ Meredith shouted out. ‘What are we going to do?’
Drew piped up, ‘There is another way into the village…’
‘But that’s a twenty-mile round trip over the mountain,’ exclaimed Rory, ‘and it’s treacherous.’
Once more alarmed chatter filled the room.
‘We might not have much choice,’ replied Felicity, putting her hand in the air to bring the room back to some sort of order.
‘We can’t get any vehicles over the mountain top,’ said Drew.
Felicity didn’t like the worry etched on Drew’s face nor did she like the dread that washed over her. She knew the bridge couldn’t be fixed overnight. It wasn’t going to be that simple. It could take months, even years to rebuild that bridge – how was everyone going to cope in the meantime?
Supplies in the village would run low very quickly, businesses would be affected. People were going to have pull all resources together and work together.
‘At least this morning the trucks have already delivered to the shops, so we can ration the food and try and make it last as long as possible,’ said Hamish, with a little hope in his voice but unable to hide the look of concern on his face.
‘How about we set up some sort of food kitchen, use the teashop to feed the whole village,’ suggested Rona.
‘I was going to suggest something similar with the pub,’ piped up Allie looking teary. Both Meredith and Fraser were nodding their heads in agreement.
‘I definitely think it’s a good idea, if we can pool all the food together until we know what’s going on,’ confirmed Rona.
‘We can use all the perishable food first from each household, cook up soup and stews and have various sittings throughout the day,’ added Felicity.
‘The elderly and children need to be fed first,’ offered Allie to a room of consensual nods.
Just at that second, they all looked up to see Jessica bursting through the door, ‘Have you seen the floods? And the bridge … it’s gone!’ Her face paled as Fergus pulled her out a seat and sat her down. ‘Where’s Esme?’
‘With Isla. I was just collecting Finn when I saw all the commotion.’
Rona hurried over with a cup of tea and placed it on the table in front of her.
‘We were on the bridge when it began to collapse,’ said Fergus.
‘WHAT? Was anyone hurt?’
Fergus shook his head. ‘No, thankfully, but Rory’s van was blown over the edge of the bridge and was swept into the river by the storm.’
‘And Fergus rescued him,’ chipped in Felicity once more. Her stomach did a flip as she remembered his heroic rescue.
‘Thank God everyone is okay but that’s the village cut off.’ Jessica’s voice was shaky. ‘And what about Aggie?’ Her worried eyes looked towards Fergus.
Aggie was in the local hospital on the other side of the collapsed bridge.
Fergus blew out a breath. ‘It didn’t cross my mind. How are we going to visit? We need to get word to her. She’ll think we’ve abandoned her.’
Heather, the postmistress, was sitting at the back of the teashop flicking on her mobile phone. ‘There’s a possibility Aggie will already know about the bridge, looking at this.’ She held up her phone in the air.
Everyone looked towards Heather. ‘The news reporters are on the other side of the bridge. Heartcross is plastered all over the news.
Heather turned up the volume and the whole room hushed to listen.
‘The scene behind me is what residents of Heartcross village have woken up to this morning. The River Heart has flooded, with businesses and houses being cut off, leaving villagers undoubtedly worried about the next steps forward.
‘The army and the environmental agency have been in attendance and will begin to clear the mud and rubble brought up by the rising waters as soon as the storm subsides.
‘We’ve not managed to reach the residents of Heartcross or interview anyone from the village as yet. There is no direct route into the village. If you are watching, please contact our help desk; the number is currently on the bottom on the screen.’
‘Quick write the number down,’ urged Felicity, throwing a pad and pencil towards Heather who eagerly scribbled down the number.
‘Shh,’ said Meredith, still trying to listen to the news report.
Once more, the tearoom fell silent.
‘The video footage you are about to see shows a local Heartcross resident battling the storm to rescue local vet Rory Scott who was stranded in his van on the bridge before the archways begins to crumble.’
‘It’s Fergus!’ exclaimed Heather.
Rona hurried over to watch the video, quickly followed by Felicity who peered over her shoulder.
Rona gasped as she watched Fergus struggling to keep on his feet, as the wind howled and the rain battered his body. Felicity could feel her eyes watering and her heart was in her mouth as she held her breath and re-lived the moment Fergus had nearly been blown off the bridge while the van swayed from side to side.
‘Oh my…’ said Rona bringing her hand up to her chest as she watched the van crashing into the river. ‘You boys are both lucky to be alive.’
‘Very lucky…’ Felicity blew out a breath. ‘It doesn’t bear thinking about.’
Everyone in the tearoom could hear the gasps from the villagers on the river bank as the archways began to crumble leaving Fergus and Rory running for their lives when the bridge collapsed.
‘Who took the footage?’ asked Rory.
‘It was me,’ piped up Stuart turning to his son Rory. ‘I sent it over to the news desk, I hope no one minds.’
‘I’m sorry about the van, Dad.’
‘Don’t be daft, vans are replaceable, my son isn’t.’ Stuart patted Rory on the shoulder.
Everyone hushed once more and listened.
‘The Environmental Minister Annie Boyd is due to arrive at the scene today but has already pledged she’ll do everything she can to get supplies through to help the residents of Heartcross, and that this is now a priority for the government. This is Aidy Redfern reporting for BBC Scotland.’
Once the news report had finished, Heather switched down the volume on her phone and looked towards Felicity. ‘You should phone the helpdesk and speak to them on behalf of the residents. Give them an update from this side of the bridge.’
Felicity brought her hand up to her chest. ‘Me? Why would I speak to them? There are more upstanding members of the community to talk to them. Drew, Rory, Fergus, Fraser or Meredith. Just to name a few.’ She pointed around the room.
‘I think you’d be perfect,’ seconded Meredith, followed by a muttering of agreement.
Rona placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. ‘I think it’s a good idea too.’
‘Why?’ asked Felicity, feeling confused.
‘Because at the moment you are less emotionally involved than all of us. I think you’ll make a good spokesperson for the village and be able to communicate clearly for all of us.’
‘I agree too,’ added Fergus. ‘You were always good at organising and getting things done.’ He locked eyes with Felicity for a split second as she felt her heart give a little leap that he trusted her to be the spokesperson for the village.
‘Put your hand up if you agree?’ bellowed Allie as everyone in the room thrust their arm high into the air.
‘That’s that then,’ said Hamish, ‘Felicity is the village’s spokesperson, our chief communicator.’
Felicity smiled at everyone. Her heart was hammering against her chest, but she was secretly pleased that the villagers thought sh
e was the best person for the job. ‘I’ll promise I’ll do my best.’
Even though it wasn’t under the best circumstances she felt a flutter of excitement that the community had put their faith in her, but also anxious in case she let them down.
‘There will be some villagers who haven’t woken up yet or have any idea that the bridge has collapsed,’ said Rona, walking towards the window and staring out.
Outside the storm was still raging, the trees were swaying, and Love Heart Lane had a real doom and gloom feeling about it.
‘How about I nip up to the school? I’ve got a set of keys, I could print out a quick flyer letting everyone know the teashop is going to be our base for updated information and meetings. Once the rain has stopped we can start pushing them through the doors?’ suggested Jessica.
‘And we could set up a Facebook page to keep everyone updated on social media too?’ chipped in Allie.
Everyone nodded.
‘Shall we say all meet back here tonight at 6 p.m.? Once we’ve got over the shock and are able to think a little clearer, we can put together a list of tasks and jobs. We need to get in touch with the council. The community really needs to pull together now,’ said Felicity as she began to gather up the cups and saucers.
The bedraggled villagers began to gather up their belongings and slide on their wet coats. Everyone was glum; they were all worried about what was going to happen and no one had a clue how long it would take to repair the bridge.
‘Spread the word too, bring all perishable goods, vegetables, fruit anything, so we can begin to plan meals for the next few days,’ shouted Felicity over the scraping of chairs.
Everyone bobbed their head before they began to reluctantly disappear back out into the miserable weather.
Allie, Rory, Fergus and Drew stayed behind. Felicity threw them each a tea towel. ‘Mum and I will wash, you lot can dry,’ she ordered.
‘You’re very strict,’ Drew teased. ‘That’s what we like in a spokesperson.’
‘Right woman for the job then,’ joked Fergus playfully while Felicity rolled her eyes at him but was secretly thrilled at his teasing.
As Rona began to fill the sink with hot soapy water and load in the cups and saucers, Felicity checked her phone.
‘I’ve twelve missed calls and one voicemail,’ she said in astonishment.
‘Who from?’ asked Allie with intrigue.
‘Isla,’ answered Felicity, as she listened to the message.
‘She’ll have seen the news and will be worried about everyone.’
As Felicity heard Isla’s voice she gasped out loud.
‘Whatever is the matter? You’ve gone a peculiar colour.’ Allie was standing by her side.
‘It’s nothing to do with the bridge at all. It’s Isla, she’s gone into labour.’ Felicity’s voice rose an octave. ‘We can’t get her to hospital, there’s no way out of the village.’
Drew looked panic-stricken as he threw down the tea-towel and raced through the door.
‘You go with him,’ Rona ordered her daughter. ‘She’s going to need some help.’
Felicity turned towards Allie. ‘Come on, she’ll need both of us.’ Allie didn’t need asking twice as she threw her tea towel towards Fergus and grabbed her coat.
Felicity’s pulse was racing, thinking of the pain Isla must be in, not to mention the worry. There was no way they could get her to a hospital.
‘What about the air ambulance?’ suggested Felicity thinking out loud.
‘I’m not sure that’ll even be an option in this storm,’ answered Rory, ‘but leave it with me, I’ll contact Dr Taylor.’
Felicity nodded, flinging open the tearoom door and stepping outside into the stormy weather.
Immediately Rory picked up the teashop’s phone and began to dial the number of the surgery.
In less than a minute, Felicity and Allie were following behind Drew, battling the high-speed winds trying to get to Foxglove Farm and Isla as fast as they could.
Chapter 13
‘Isla,’ bellowed Drew, his heart thumping fast as he stepped into the hallway. ‘Where are you?’
He heard footsteps running across the landing and at the top of the stairs Finn’s wide eyes appeared with Esme standing at the side of him.
‘Mummy’s not well. She’s up here.’
Esme flapped her hand. ‘Come on.’
As fast as he could, Drew’s fumbling fingers untied his boots. ‘You come down here and watch the TV now. I’ll see that Mummy is okay.’
Finn and Esme did as they were told and skipped down the stairs. As soon as they disappeared towards the living room Drew leapt up the stairs towards the bedroom.
‘Isla, I’m here,’ he said, pushing open the door.
A flustered looking Isla was lying on the bed, sweating profusely and looking in complete agony.
‘Thank God, what took you so long?’ she said breathlessly.
‘Don’t worry about that now, I’m here,’ he said, taking his wife’s hand.
‘The contractions are getting closer, you need to drive me to the hospital.’
Drew was rooted to the spot as he stared at Isla. He didn’t know how to tell her she wouldn’t be going to hospital anytime soon. He started to panic – he’d no clue how to deliver a baby.
‘Drew, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s the matter? Don’t just stand there. Grab my bag and help me down the stairs. I’ve texted Jessica to come and get the children, she should be on her way.’
Drew faltered. ‘I can’t drive you to the hospital.’ But before Isla could question why, they heard hurried footsteps up the stairs.
Isla looked towards the doorway to see Felicity and Allie fall into the room. ‘I’ve seen it in the movies, we need hot towels,’ said Felicity. ‘Can I be chief midwife?’
‘What are you pair doing here?’ Isla looked perplexed. ‘In fact, can you look after Finn and Esme until Jessica arrives? Now help me up and get me to that hospital.’ Isla tried to push herself up in the bed, but then came a contraction that dominated her entire body. She let out an almighty scream that made Drew jump out of his skin before taking his wife’s hand once more. Isla’s pain lasted for what seemed infinity.
‘Breathe through it,’ offered Allie, ‘I’ve heard them say that in the movies too.’
Isla closed her eyes, waiting for the agony to pass.
As soon as it did, she exhaled, then her eyes met Drew’s. ‘Please just get me in the car before the next contraction comes, they are getting nearer and nearer.’
‘You haven’t told her, have you?’ said a wide-eyed Felicity looking in Drew’s direction.
‘I’ve not had a chance yet,’ he replied, risking a tentative look towards his wife.
‘Told me what?’ she said with a guttural grunt clutching her stomach once more. ‘What do you need to tell me?’
‘We can’t get you to the hospital,’ answered Allie in a sympathetic tone. ‘But we are here to help.’ She raised her eyebrows and rubbed her hands together.
‘What do you mean? You either drive me there or ring for an ambulance.’
‘Isla, we can’t. The bridge has collapsed in the storm. We can’t get out of the village. We are stranded.’ Drew watched as the words registered.
‘And no one can get in,’ added Felicity.
‘Are you serious? What about the air ambulance?’
‘Rory’s looking into that and alerting Dr Taylor. But with these winds it’s going to struggle to land safely. It looks like we need to prepare to deliver the baby here.’
‘We can’t deliver the baby here,’ she screamed, as she clutched her stomach again.
‘Mummy, are you okay?’ They all heard Finn’s voice call out from the top of the stairs.
‘I’ll occupy the children until Jessica arrives,’ said Allie, swiftly turning and taking what seemed like the easy option. She firmly closed the bedroom door behind her.
‘Come on Finn, let’s go and watch a film
. Mummy is absolutely fine.’ Allie took him by the hand and led him swiftly downstairs into the living room.
‘Is the baby coming out of Mummy’s tummy?’ he asked, giving a quick glance towards the closed living-room door.
‘Yes, Finn. The baby’s on his way.’
Felicity could hear her phone ringing as she delved inside her bag. ‘It’s Rory,’ she said, quickly swiping the screen.
‘What’s he saying?’ flapped Drew.
A minute later Felicity hung up the phone. ‘Well?’ urged Drew.
‘It’s not good news. The air ambulance was called out on another job but due to the storm, it’s stranded somewhere on the other side of the mountain. Rory has tracked down Dr Taylor and he’s on his way over.’
Isla let out a hysterical laugh. ‘So you pair are telling me I’m having the baby here? With no pain relief?’
‘That’s about the size of it,’ confirmed Felicity, sucking in a breath before taking off her coat and throwing it over the chair in the corner of the room. ‘We are stranded, the village even made the news headlines.’
Isla couldn’t believe it. ‘And there’s really no way out of the village?’
‘Only the twenty miles over the treacherous terrain but I don’t think you’re up to trekking over the mountain top just at the minute.’
‘What are we going to do?’ said Drew, looking between the both of them.
‘Luckily for you, you don’t have to do much.’ Isla’s tone was a little sarcastic. ‘Right,’ she said, suddenly sounding in control. ‘I’ve done this before and I can do it again.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ exclaimed Felicity spurring on Isla.
‘We can do this,’ Isla spluttered as another contraction tightened across her stomach and she controlled her breathing.
‘How long have you been having contractions for?’ asked Drew.
‘On and off for the past few days but they’ve become more frequent since about three o’clock this morning,’ she admitted through gritted teeth.
‘And you let me go to work and you didn’t think to tell me?’
Isla couldn’t answer but let out another scream.
‘Okay. I need a bowl of warm water, some towels, in fact as many as you can find,’ Felicity instructed, locking eyes with Drew who saluted. He was thankful Felicity was there and rushed towards the airing cupboard where he grabbed a handful of towels before filling up a bowl of warm water.’
Love Heart Lane Page 13